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The Rep was all over this match up
http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/x1631830483/East-Canton-boys-thwack-Malvern-to-stay-perfect
Things Of Note
Cartwright hit 7 3-pointers in the first half. I enjoyed watching the progression of anger from Malvern's coach as they just kept coming. The first two 3-pointers, he was OK with, encouraging his team. On the third one, it became apparent he was getting irritated. With 6:30 to go in the second quarter, Joe decided swish shooting was too easy for him and he would try banking three's. The ball banked in and Coach Tucci at Malvern cocked his foot back like his was going to kick the bench (not really a bench, more of a collection of chairs), but decided to relax his force, sparing the chair from bending like Beckham. Joe then hit his 5th three a minute later at the 5:30 mark. His 6th at the 4:00 minute mark. And his 7th at the 1:23 mark. By the 7th 3-pointer, Tucci's jacket was flying up against the wall and he was screaming at the kids. With 2.3 seconds remaining in the half, Joe tried to get another three off but was fouled. Tucci was belligerent on this play, embarrassing his own son for fouling. Coach Tucci was in luck though. The free throw line was too close for Joe. He only made 1 out of the 3 attempts. The next half Joe only shot a couple of 3s. He didn't try to force shots that weren't there and went back to looking for his teammates. Would anyone who knows Joe expect him to do anything else? He is as selfless as they come. It could not be more obvious from reading the article the Rep wrote. How many kids would have taken the opportunity to self-gloss after a performance like that? There is no way to tell but the percentage it would happen from a kid on this team is far below average. And the chance Joe Cartwright would is absolutely zero.
In the first half, East Canton was 10/20 on 3-pointers. They had made 10 3-pointers and 3 2-pointers. Malvern had taken only 1 3-pointer and made it, 1/1. This differential in 3s is staggering but not as staggering as the foul situation. With 2:40 to go in the 2nd quarter, East Canton had committed 7 fouls to Malvern's 1. Then, at the 1:30 mark of the 3rd quarter, East Canton had already committed 7 fouls to Malvern's 2.
Hornet fans have the fever, and the only prescription is more East Canton Basketball. The ever prescient fans showed up early to get their seat. 30 minutes before the JV game and the visitor section was filling up rapidly. The gym was packed by the end of the JV game and people were watching the game in cafeteria on closed circuit TV. The East Canton fans were loud, louder than the other 2/3 of the fans. The student section made sure Malvern knew they lost with a powerful chant in the 4th quarter and had no mercy when Malvern's JV kids botched an outlet pass in the varsity game, chanting "fun-da-mentals." And the environment should only get crazier from here on out.
Bradley may have a career in politics when his basketball days are through. He was lobbying extremely hard for Burfield to let him shoot the technical free throws in the 4th quarter. Burfield didn't give in, but made only 1 of the 2. Our scorekeeper was quick to point out the excess quarters played. A kid can only play 5 quarters combined between JV and varsity on any given night. Both the home and away books showed that he played in all 4 JV quarters and 2 varsity quarters. Tucci threw a fit. First, he tried to get his scorekeeper to change how it was marked in the home book. Then, he tried arguing with the refs about it. And finally, when all his options were exhausted, he just threw the book over his head like a child, striking the scorekeeper in the head. I heard the scorekeeper claim he was quitting because of the disrespect by Tucci. He claimed he had been keeping the book for 52 years there. What a shame.
Tucci, a few minutes later, having not been able to draw attention to himself awhile, sparked a substitution war. He put his younger guys in with East Canton holding a 16 point lead. Coach Spurgeon was completely oblivious to this and left his main guys in. Tucci then subbed his starters back in an effort to make Coach Spurgeon look like he was being unmerciful. When people explained to Spurgeon the substitution war that he didn't even know he was in, he put all his younger kids in, and Tucci did too.
The stat breakdown for the East Canton: Points - Cartwright 27, Burfield 18, Bradley 9, Slater 8, Cambell 6, Smith 5. Smith added a team leading 9 rebounds and tied Bradley for the team lead in assists with 4. Burfield led the team in steals with 3. Malvern was led by Tucci with 20 and 5 big fouls. A sluggish-looking Wackerly had 14 points.
The JV team lost a heart breaker in overtime. The long 3-pointer gave Malvern a 1 point lead with 5 seconds remaining. Shultz's prayer was not answered at the buzzer. The final was 46-47.
A Free-Press article recapping the Garfield and Malvern games
http://www.the-press-news.com/news/slideshow/4771273
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